We invite you to attend the 13th Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group on Music and Minorities, which will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, from 7 to 12 September 2026!
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Home to leading universities, museums, and archives, as well as a vibrant music and arts scene, it offers an inspiring setting for our international scholarly gathering. The host institution of the symposium, the Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, is a premier research center dedicated to the study of music, theater, architecture, fine arts, and cultural heritage.

Online Submission Form
Submission Deadline: 10 February 2026

THEMES:
1. Sacred Music and Dance Among Minorities and Diasporas
2. Music, Dance, and the Conceptualization of Minorities
3. Popular Music and Dance among Minorities
4. New Research

THEME DESCRIPTIONS:

1. Sacred Music and Dance Among Minorities and Diasporas
This theme explores the role of sacred music and dance in shaping, sustaining, and
expressing the identities of minority and diasporic communities. It considers how sacred,
liturgical, and spiritual repertoires are transmitted, adapted, and reinterpreted across
time and geographical contexts, reflecting both continuity and transformation within
communities. From long-standing rituals to contemporary forms of worship, sacred
movement and sound serve as vital media for preserving cultural memory, negotiating
belonging, and strengthening community cohesion. We invite contributions that examine
how sacred music and dance practices navigate displacement, diversity, and change, illuminating the intersections of faith, identity, and creativity in varied social, cultural,
and political contexts.

2. Music, Dance, and the Conceptualization of Minorities
In different social, cultural, and political contexts, the term “minority” may denote a
social status, a living condition, or an identity that is imposed, self-chosen, or
collectively constructed. At the same time, “minority” can also function as a contested or
misleading label in the processes of social positioning and human grouping. This theme
invites discussions of how music and dance practices are entangled with social factors
and political forces as minority people imagine and negotiate collective and individual
selves. The theme also invites reflection on the agency of music and dance in ongoing
processes of minoritization, as well as on researchers’ roles, experiences, and ethics in
conceptualizing minorities.

3. Popular Music and Dance among Minorities
This theme addresses how popular music and dance serve as frameworks through which
minority groups assert presence, organize cultural participation, and confront
marginalization. We recognize that definitions of “popular” vary across contexts and may
encompass recorded music, community-based performance, locally adapted genres, or
practices that circulate beyond commercial systems. We welcome contributions that
explore how minority communities create, reinterpret, or circulate these forms through
global and local exchanges. Submissions may focus on music, dance, or their
interrelations, as well as on the spaces, whether streets, clubs, festivals, digital platforms,
or ceremonial settings, where these practices take shape. We also invite analyses of how
diverse technologies (analog, digital, or embodied) from musical instruments and sound
systems to social media and streaming platforms, enable or restrict the circulation of such
forms. Case studies from any region are welcome, particularly those involving groups
marginalized by ethnicity, language, religion, gender, sexuality, migration, or other
factors.

4. New Research
This unspecified theme welcomes proposals featuring current research on music and
minorities that do not fit into the themes specified above.

PRESENTATION FORMATS:

Individual Paper

Each presentation will be allotted 20 minutes inclusive of illustrations and examples, plus
10 minutes for questions and discussion. The Program Committee will organize
individual proposals that have been accepted into thematically related sessions. Please
submit an abstract of 250 words outlining the content, argument, and conclusion, and
indicate the symposium theme to which it should be assigned.

Panel
Organized panel sessions of 90 or 120 minutes are highly encouraged. A panel consists of
a group of three or four papers that are entirely planned, coordinated, and prepared by a
group of presenters, one of whom is the responsible coordinator. The proposal should
contain a 250-word shared abstract and a 250-word abstract for each participant. Panel
proposals will be accepted or rejected in its entirety.

Roundtable
Roundtables refer to the sessions featuring discussion related to one of the symposium
themes. They are prepared and coordinated by a group of four to five participants, one of
whom serves as the responsible coordinator. A roundtable of 90 minutes starts with a
short statement by each participant, followed by a coordinated exchange of arguments by
the participants. At the convener’s discretion, the audience can be asked to take an active
part in the discussion. The convener, who is expected to chair the session, should submit
a 250-word proposal with its aims and the roles of the individual participants.

Film Presentation
We also encourage proposals for film presentations related to one of the symposium
themes. Please submit an abstract of 250 words indicating the length and the content of
the film.

CONFERENCE FORMAT AND REMOTE PARTICIPATION

This conference will primarily be an in-person event to facilitate interactions among
participants. However, there will be a limited number of hybrid panels, restricted to
colleagues residing in the global South and/or with accessibility needs. Please note that
you must request to present remotely when you submit your proposal; opportunities to
present remotely will not be offered to on-site proposals.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:
10 February 2026

Proposals should be submitted via the online submission form, by 10 February
2026.

Please note that each participant is limited to a single presentation. All presenters must
be members of the ICTMD at the time of the conference.

The reviewing process of the proposals will be anonymous. Notifications of acceptances
and rejections will be sent to the submitters by 1 April 2026.

If you have any questions, please contact Ioannis Christidis, Secretary of the ICTMD Study
Group on Music and Minorities, at christidis@mdw.ac.at

Programme Committee: Svanibor Pettan, Andriy Nahachewsky, Tatevik
Shakhkulkyan, Mayco Santaella, Ioannis Christidis, Kai Tang (chair)

Local Arrangements Committee: Tatevik Shakhkulkyan (chair), Ararat Aghasyan,
Anna Asatryan, Koriun Davtyan, Lilit Harutyunyan.

We warmly welcome you to the symposium in Yerevan, Armenia, in
September 2026!

Executives of the ICTMD Study Group on Music and Minorities:
Kai Tang (Chair), Mayco Santaella (Vice-Chair), and Ioannis Christidis (Secretary)